Game News Round-Up

The year's Steam Replay reveals 85% of Steam users in 2024 spent time playing games released in 2023 or earlier

XDefiant's final patch includes content that would have released in future seasons if it hadn't been cancelled

• The content itself includes three new factions, including the Assassin Creed's crossover promised a little while back. The Wolves and Omega Force factions are also available, even though they were supposed to release in seasons four and five, respectively.
• 13 new maps, including a Rayman map that was going to be part of an epic event takeover in Season 4. It even has it’s own mode with Lum Hunt

Fully playable Wii build of Star Wars: Battlefront 3 Wii build leaks online

• Reportedly found on a Wii test kit discovered at an e-waste recycling center and lovingly restored by fan group Free Radical Archive, the Star Wars: Battlefront 3 build is dated just a week before work on the game came to a halt. As such, it’s more than eight months further along in the development timeline than an Xbox 360 prototype that got leaked in 2016.

Wizard of Legend is free on Epic Game Store today

• Epic's annual free-game-a-day begins today

Hothead Games has shut down after almost 20 years

• The Vancouver-based studio was established in 2006 by former Radical Entertainment staffers Steve Bocska, James Ceraldi and Joel DeYoung. Initially, Hothead focused on developing and publishing digital console and PC titles, but eventually pivoted to focus on creating free-to-play mobile games (with mixed results).

Glen Schofield says EA recently turned down his Dead Space 4 proposal